Building construction



June '23, 1942. M. H. CARPENTER BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 27,1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Muss l7! Cxmpnvme V ATTORNEY June 1942-M. H. CARPENTER BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 2'7, 194]. 4Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Mu: b. CJRPf/WEK BY v MQM' ATTORNEY Jline. 1942-M. H. CARPENTER 2,287,229

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 27, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lNYEN-TORMus/9f C/wmvrm svmah ATTORNEY Patented June 23, 1942 i ulmrlzo- STATESPATENT orrics BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Miles E. Carpenter, Merrick, N. Y.,assignor to Duramore Buildings, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application January 27, 1941, Serial No. 376,023

11. Claims. (c1. 20-2) building within a factory in a few relativelylarge completely finished three-dimensional sections, as distinguishedfrom mere wall panels and the like which are essentiallytwo-dimensional, which sections can then be transported to the site andthere placed on a foundation and secured toget-her to form'the finishedbuilding.

Objects of this invention are to devise a portable sectional buildinghaving constructional features adapting it to be built in a factory withall the advantages of indoor factory work, which l5 sections canbecompleted'in the factoryeven to installation of fixtures and decorativesurfacing and trim, which sections can be transported from factory tosite without bending or sagging or otherwise injuring. the installationsand final work, which sections can be secured together into finishedbuildings at the site with a minimum of labor and time, and which willform finished buildings of great strength and resistance to settling,cracking or other deterioration, and which can be'disassembled and movedto another site if desired with a minimum of labar and damage to anypart of the building.

Further objects will become apparent during a factory.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail view corresponding to the lower leftcorner of Fig. 5;

Fig. '11 is a horizontal section at a corner, taken on the line lll| ofFig. 5;

Fig. 12 is a perspective of the frame construction for one of thesections; v

Fig, 13 is a detail horizontal section of a corner in my wallconstruction taken on the line I3|3.of Fig. 6;

Fig. 14 is a detail horizontal section showing the construction of aninside corner where two sections are joined together, as atA in Fig. 1;

and I Fig. 15 is a detail perspective of a portion of a base frame suchas the right half of the structure shown in Fig. 7, the left hand'partof which comes at an interior partition and the right hand part of whichcomes at an exterior wall.

As illustrated particularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4,

houses constructed in accordance withmy invention and preferably made ofa plurality of a completed sections, although some features of myinvention may be utilized where housesare constructed in a singlesection. Each section is, in accordance with the best practice under myinvention, built and assembled together in The several completedsections are then transported separatelyto the house site as on a flattruck trailer. Each sectionshould not the course of the detailedspecification which 80' in its horizontal dimensions exceed 12 x 29 ft.

follows.

In the drawings, which illustrate embodiments of my invention,.

Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a completed or the appropriate size forhighway regulations in the particular locality. By building and trans-'porting two or more such sectionsand securing them together on the sitit-is'possible to sehouse constructed inaccordance with and emcure thebenefits of factory construction-and at bodying one form of myinvention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the separate three-dimensionalsections for the house of Fig. 1 before being secured together;

Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views illustrating 40 alternativeconstructions in accordance with my invention, Fig. 3 showing atwo-section house the same time, in spite of the limit 'of size of eachunit for transportation, to produce a practical and livable final houseconstruction-of almost any desired size. I

Figs. 1 and 8 illustrate a house set up in accordance with my inventionand having two full size sections and one small sizesection. The dottedlines B--B and CC in Fig.8 indicate where'the sectionsarejoined'together. This house shown. as an illustrative embodimentgives a large living room, two, bedrooms, kitchen and bath.

In order to transport the house sections from. factory to site withincidental jacking up and handling in the transfer, it is essential thateach section be very strong and stiff so that it will not weave, sag,twist or bow even when irregularly supported. as for example, when onecorner alone,is temporarily jacked up. Without such 66 stillness andstrength it would not bepractical- 2 g to completely flnishthe, sectionsin the factory with siding, windows, interior walls, floors, wallpaper,.plinnbing, lighting fixtures, etc. all installed before transportation.It is also important that such stiffness and strength be secured 5without added weight or added cost. It is therefore important forcarrying out my svstem of house. manufacture to incorporate specialconstruction features which will give the desired strength and rigiditywithout extra weight orng cost.

The completed house is indicated generally by the reference character20. The sections of the 3-section house of Fig. 2 are designated as 22,24, and 26; those of the 2-s'ection house of Fig. 3 as 28, 30; andthoseof thee-section house of Fig. 4, as 32, 34, 36 and 2 8.

Each section is supported by a rectangular base frame 40, best seen inFigs. 11, 12 and 15, consisting of a built-up inverted T-beam. Thisbeammay be made of wood, as by using 2 x 8's turned flatwise for the cap42 of the inverted T and two 2 x 4's alongside of each otherwith theiredges resting on the 2 x 8 to form the'stem ll of the inverted T. The 2x 4's are centered on the.2 x 8 leaving approximately 2" for theoverhang of the cap of the inverted T on each side. At the comers ofthis rectangular frame the joints are staggered as shown in Fig. 11. Thecap member 42:: of one T beam member extends to the outer line of thecorner while the other cap member 42:: butts against its side.

one, and its stem members at, My are the long ones, extending across thebutt joint between the cap members. Stem member 11 extends clear to thestem corner, while stem member ,b butts against it. Stem member a: thenbutts against b, and a butts against it. Thus the stem components form astaggered joint, and the C joint is fornied. at the maximum distancefrom the cap joint, whereby the breaks in the formation of theentirebeam frame are spaced apart as much-as possible and a stronger, morerigid 45 construction results. It will be noted also in. Figs. 11 andl2that the opposite ends of each cap and stem are reversed, that is,where the right end of the transverse cap in Fig. 11 extends full to theend and its stem ends short, 5 its left end ends short-while its stemthere extends to the longer position. Thus strains are more equalizedand uniform length pieces may be used for theopposite sides of eachframe.

Steel strips or plates 46 may be secured as by screws along the bottomsof each of these rectangular frames. These plates will act both to giveadded strength to the composite beams, to serve as protection againstgouging or splintering of the wood when the house sections are jacked;up or skidded along, and also to stop termites-from entering the wood.

The exterior walls of the sections are formed g of large flat surfacingsheets 48 and studs 50 of rectangular section such as 2" x 4". studs areturned flatwise and their ends rest on.

The 5 the projecting part of the inverted T-beam, with their wider flatsides in contact with the stem of the inverted T-beam. The exterior wallsu'rfacing consists oflarge flat panels or sheets 48,

. theouter flat faces of these studs and project downpast the edge ,ofthe cap member of the inverted T-beam, to whose face they are secured asby screws 52. The plywood is secured to the wide flat sides of the studsby a strong adhesive.

A preferred manner of securing the adhesive bond between the plywood andstuds-is to apply cold phenolic resin glue to the studs and nail theplywood'to the studs. The pressure achieved and held by the nailing issufllcient for satisfactory setting of the phenolic resin adhesive. Theflat faces of the studs give greater glue-bond area than theconventional edge faces.

" The studs themselves are fastened to the beam stemsby stout woodscrews 54 which pass through the plywood also and further secure it.

By this construction the studs are easily and accurately positioned andare fastened at vertically spaced points to the side face of the stemwhich is in tight contact with the flat face of the studs. This gives astructure which 'will withstand strains, in any direction, which wouldbreak loose and destroy the conventional edgewise studs simply restingon a .plate and toenailed thereto.

-Any desired type of insulating material may be secured between thestuds. facing material 56, preferably in sheet form,

such as plywood panels, is applied across the in-' ner surfaces of thestuds, and is preferably likewise glued to the flat stud faces.

Joists 58 of a height approximately equal to the stem 44 plus thethickness of the cap 42 are corner notched to fit over the edges of thecaps and against the side faces of the stems. These joists are spiked inplace, just as the component. members of the beam frame are securedtogether by spikes 60. K

A suitable filler strip 62 is laid over the beam stems to bring theheight here exactly level with the tops of the joists 58, and a subfloor64-, preferably of large continuous plywood panels, rests thereon and isfastened as by spikes into the beam frame. A finishfloor 86 is laid ontop of this subfloor.

Stud spacers 68 of the same thickness as the studs are secured betweenthem and similarly secured to the plywood which forms the wallsursecured to the heads of the studs and glued to the outer covering ofplywood. Joists H, as for example 2 x 6s, are notched on to the topstringer members just described and extend preferably across the shorterdimension of each section. a The top edges of the joists comesubstantially flush with the top edges of the plywood sheathins.

In the usual house plan, rafters 1G slopeup from the top edge of thewall on one side to a line directly above the wall at the other side ofthe section. These rafters aie notched to rest on the stringers l3 andare bolted to the side faces of the joists H. Risers I8 extend from thestringer members 13a to the rafters 16 along the edge of the sectionwhere the rafters are-raised from the stringers 13a and along both endsof the section.

Sheet wall surtogether.

the axis of dowels 86, either between dowel A ridge pole 80, as forexample a 2 x 8 with wider dimension vertical is secured to the raisedends of the rafters and is provided with holes for bolting it to asimilar ridge pole 80 or the section which is to be secured adjacent tothis section.

If the entire building is to consist of only one I on either sectionface for the width of the doorway and a longer uninterrupted dowelgroovand dowel may be provided there. 4

Similar dowels 86a extend vertically at the ends of the sections, andfit in similar grooves 84a (shown in Fig. formed in opposing faces ofthe corner studs. Similar bolts pass through .theaxes of these dowels,'or through the dowels themselves, to hold the sections together alongAt the line 3-3 in Fig. 8, two sections are joined 'where an interiorpartition wall corresponds generally with the joining line. As seen atthe bottom center of Fig. 5, the edges of the cap members 46 buttagainst each other, while the composite stem beams 44 are spaced apart.The distance between them is equal to two stud thicknesses. Referringnow to Fig. 7 it will be seen that the studs 50 in the two halves of theinterior partition wall are staggered so that they do not touch eachother. This gives a more highly sound-proof wall and reduces thetransmission of jars and vibrations as well as sound. The two end studs58a do however come directly the ends.

Fig. 3 illustrates. diagrammatically where the bolts 88 are placed,along the bottom edge, along the vertical end edges, and along the ridgepoles 80 and the adjacent ceiling stringers 13.

These bolts secure the sections tightly togetherand prevent anyspreading apart of the sections. The horizontally disposed dowel keysprevent any 3 vertical shifting between the sections, and the verticallydisposed dowel keys prevent any end-- opposite each other and are drawninto direct face contact when the two sections are secured together.This makes for greater strength at the ends of the walls. The same istrue at door j jambs where there are doors through the partition wall.

Below the floor level strength and rigidity are the important factorsrather thansound insulation. Here filler blocks 82 of the same thicknessas the studs, are spiked or otherwise secured in place horizontallybetween the studs and fitting against the stem and extending cap of theinverted T-beam, near the ends of the wall and below the door openings,on theopposing sides of both sections. These filler blocks are more orless staggeredsince the studs are staggered, and

the overlapping portions of their faces are in fiat contact with eachother, being drawn tight together when the sections of the building aredrawn together.

These filler blocks have corresponding semi-- cylindrical grooves 84formed along their opposing faces, which provides a cylindrical borewhen the sections are drawn together.

A hardwood dowel 88 of a size to fit snugly in this bore is placed inone of the grooves 84 before the two sections are drawn together, andpreferably secured againstfalling out, as by nailing it in place. Whenthe sections are approximately positioned with respect to each other andare drawn tight together this dowel with the. cooperating grooves servesto guide the sections into final exact relationship. When they are tighttogether the dowel, with its tremendous strength in shear, prevents evenminute vertical displacement of the two sections .with' respect to eachother.

Bolts 88 pass through the composite stems 44 and filler blocks 82 todraw the sections tightly These bolts also pass directly through lengthsor directly through holes bored in the dowels as seen in Figs. 7 and 5.

The dowels 86 are shown in exploded relation doorways, as is the casewith the three center dowel lengths in thatflgure, since no studsoccurwise shifting between the sections.

The'ceiling joists 14 as shown in Fig. 5 either butt the stringer 13awhich is to be bolted to a corresponding stringer I3, and are fastenedby end spikes, or a ledger board may be fastened on the face of thestringer to give a notch support of the joist similarto that seen at theleft end of the joists in Fig.5.

The corner studs in the end walls (stud 58b in Fig. 15) extend the fullheight to the ridge pole, as shown in Fig. 5, constituting both stud andriser in one unbroken length. These studs provide the grooves 84a forthe vertical dowels 88a, and give firm support for the stringers 13a byproviding notched seats for their ends as seen 1 in Fig. 15.

The arrangement of studs and filler blocks in relation to the T beamframes has been described for outside walls, and for adjacent joinedfaces which coincide with a partition wall; My construction can also beadapted to cases where the joint between sections comes within a room.Such a joint is shown at the right in Figs. 2 and 5 and at the line 0-0in Fig. 8, and in enlarged section in Fig. 9.

Here the standard inverted T beam is used on theleft side which has anoutside wall along.

part of its length, so that the studs can fit in as previouslydescribed. A filler block 90 is fitted into the angle of the T beam forthe portion of its length where the open room comes and no studs occur.the angle of the T and come flush with the edge of the cap 42 and thetop of the stem 44, and is securely spiked to both.

The adjacent frame beam for the smaller section is of L shape on thisside, its cap 420 being narrower and flush with the outside edge of itsstem 44c, and of T shape as before on the other three sides where wallstuds go. The L beam fits fiat against the filled-in -T beam at thisjoint CC, and grooves, dowel, and bolts are provided acrossunder thefioor similar to those. previously described. The vertical walls at thefar side and the ceiling stringers and roof members are secured togetheras with the other sections. The near end wall of the small section isarranged to coincide with a partition wall, and

these are secured together with similar grooves,

dowel, and bolts as shown in Fig. 14,

By use of the constructional features which I have described in detail,in illustrative embodiments, I am able to buildv complete house-sections in a factory, with all the advantages of factory methods andfactory operations, and truck these sections to.the site where they 'areThis filler block is of size to fill easily and quickly placed on thefoundation and fastened together. I attribute a large part-of thecommercial success of my invention to the combination of structuralfeatures including the composite beam frame with studs set in the anglesand the stiff walls formed of large continuous sheet panels glued. tothe studs, which gives torque-resisting strength allowing the sectionsto be freely lifted and moved about without strain or damage. Incombination with these features of strength in the individual sections,the manner of securing the sections together develops similar integratedstrength and stiffness for the entire assembled house, which makes thesectional fabrication practical.

While I .have shown and described various illustrative embodiments andfeatures together, it is to be understood that various of them could beused separately or in other combinations or variation without departingfrom the substance of my invention. Hence I desire to be limited only bythe following claims.

I claim:

1. A building section adapted to be completely prefabricated apart fromand transported to the building site and there joined with at least onemore similar section to form a completed building, said sectioncomprising a generally rectangular baseframe in the form of an invertedT beam, a floor secured directly onto the stem surfaces of said frame,and at least two adjacent vertical outside walls secured to saidframeand to each other, said walls fitting within the outer angles ofsaid T beam frame, having face contact of the inner sides of the wallsagainst the vertically rising stem and end contact against the head ofthe inverted T.

2. Device of claim 1, in which the vertical outside walls have facingsthereover and the facings extend down over the side of the head of theT-beam.

3. Device of claim 1 in which the stem member of each T beam length isbuilt up of two relahigh narrow planks face to face with the ends of.

the outer ones protruding past the ends of the inner ones by a plankthickness at each end, the staggered end of each stem fitting in thestaggered end of the joining stem in interlocking relationship at eachcorner, the cap m'm the T beam whose stem components abut the sides ofthe joining stem components extending full to the corner, and the capmember of the joining 'beam abutting against the side of said 'capmemher.

5. In a three-dimensional building unit adapted to be manufacturedcomplete and in assembled relationship in a factory for transportationto the site for joining with at least one other such section to form acompleted building, a generally rectangular T section base frame for thesection comprising flat cap members and stem members secured along theupper faces of said cap members, the stem and cap members being joinedin,

staggered relationship at the corners of the frame, the stem membersbeing thinner than the cap members and leaving inner and outer ledges ofthe cap members, notched flOOf'jOlStS fitting I studs whereby to preventvertical shifting of the across the inside of said frame with thenotched ends resting on the inner ledges, and the outer ledges adaptedto support the bottom edges of building walls.

6. A generally rectangular T section base frame for a portable buildingsection comprising four flatwise cap members butting end to side at thecorners, the members of each opposite pair being of the same length andbeing oppositely staggered to' form the corner joints, and stem memberson edge on the cap members and having butting end to side corners, themembers of each opposite pair of stem members being of the same lengthand being staggered opposite to each other and opposite to the adjacentcap member joints to form their earlier joints, whereby a strong frameis provided having a minimum concentration of jointweakness, andidentical dimensioned pairs of members-may be usedfor its formation.

7. In a building construction made upof preassembled sections, agenerally rectangular T section frame for each section, filler piecesfor two adjacent frame sides each being of the same thickness as theoverhang of its T- can whereby flush abutting frame sides are presented,corresponding longitudinal grooves being formed in said filler pieces, akey member fitting in said grooves, and means for drawing and holdingsaid frame faces together in keyed relationship.

8. A building construction comprising portable preassembledthree-dimensional sections adapted to be fastened together at'the site,each section providing. a plurality of outside walls at least twoof'which in each section areadjacent at a corner, where they aresecuredtogether, and an interior partition wall being provided at the meetingplane of two of the sections, each of said sections having an invertedT'section'beam frame, the outside/walls resting in the outer overhang ofthe T cap, and studs for. the-partiand sound conductivity is avoided,and corre-' sponding horizontal filler strips of thesame' thickness asthe studs being provided between the feet of studs in the two sections,saidstrips having longitudinal corresponding grooves 'in their abuttingfaces, and short lengths ofv key rods being provided in said groovesbetween the two Factions relative to each other, and *means beingprovided to draw and hold the two sections tightly together with saidkeys in place.

9. In a preassembled building section adapted to be joined to agenerally similar building section to form a finished building, asection base frame, grooved members along .a face of said frame adaptedto receive a common key for positioning with respect to similar groovesin' the section to fo.rm a completed house said section having agenerally rectangular base frame'comprising a horizontally extendplatform portion and a vertically extending stem portion, at least twooutside walls forming at least one end and onelside to said housesection and being secured together at the corner, a floor on the stemportion of said base frame and a rafter frame-supported at least atall'four of its corners by uprights from the corners of the base frame,a roof over said section, the outer surfacing of the outer wallsextending-past its studs and overlapping and being secured to the outeredge of the base frame and the frame of the rafter ceiling, said sectionbeing provided with positioning and

